Haematological Profile of Khariar Cattle of Odisha: Baseline Leucocyte, Erythrocyte and Platelet Values

Abstract

Khariar is a small, hardy draught breed of western Odisha for which no blood profile has been
published. Blood from 36 clinically healthy Khariar cattle (cows, bulls and calves) was analysed for
24 complete blood count variables. Total leucocyte count averaged 10.48 ± 2.56 × 10³/μL, and
lymphocytes formed 63.63 ± 10.93% of leucocytes; the granulocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio was 0.43 ±
0.31. Erythrocyte count, haemoglobin and haematocrit averaged 6.51 ± 0.95 × 10⁶/μL, 15.34 ± 2.00
g/dL and 34.16 ± 5.22%, with a mean corpuscular volume of 52.60 ± 4.61 fL. Platelet count
averaged 236.80 ± 54.12 × 10³/μL and mean platelet volume 5.36 ± 0.45 fL. Leucocyte, erythrocyte
and platelet counts fell within published bovine ranges and close to values for other Indian zebu
breeds. Haemoglobin and the derived mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (15.34 ± 2 g/dL
and 44.29 ± 1.29 g/dL), however, exceeded physiological limits, was higher than reported for other
Indian breeds, which may reflect greater oxygen-carrying capacity and adaptation of this hardy
draught breed to a hot tropical environment; These values may provide the first haematological
baseline for Khariar cattle, and further studies with a larger population are needed to establish age-
and sex-specific reference intervals.